SNJ

THE SNJ

The U. S Navy, under an Army contract, acquired 40 NJ-1s. The Navy designation was N = trainer, J= North American with the 1 representing the first trainer built for the Navy by North American. The Navy designated it the SNJ with the S standing for “Scout” which translates to advanced trainer,

In 1952, the US Navy trialled a number of different colour schemes for their SNJs. Although the majority were then painted yellow, red was first given as an alternative. In June 1952, 12 SNJs of No.1 Basic Training Unit at Barin Field adopted the new colours as seen here. After the trials were concluded in December, all trainers, including the new T-28s had to be painted overall yellow. (Martin Pengelly)